Monster
by FreezePride
Summary: Characters: Aeleus (Lexaeus), Dilan (Xaldin) He was convinced that he would never that kind of man, but the monster was within all along. [ mentions of LexZex ]


It took a very specific kind of person to start laughing gratefully after taking a good punch to the face. Though it may be rather hard to believe, Aeleus was one of those people. He was a fighter, despite his calming tendencies, and when he trained, and rather specifically, when he sparred with Dilan, most would say that the duo looked remarkably in sync. That, despite all of their differences, their height, their skin color, their demeanor, they could have passed off as brothers.

Because that's what they were, as far as the large man was considered.

And perhaps, that was why, after taking a rather harsh beating from his fighting opponent, he was rather happy to see how much Dilan had improved. He moved like the wind, Aeleus reflected, thinking of how amazed he had been at his comrade's remarkably speed, his growing strength. Not two months ago, Aeleus would have mopped the floor with Dilan, but so strikingly quickly tables seemed to have turned.

He chuckled as he straightened, trying to keep from wheezing as he caught his breath and nursed his bruised ribs and torso. Dilan certainly had not been easy on him this time around. "You've really improved." He admitted. Strangely enough, he had simply been happy at the prospect of training with his brother in arms. It felt like ages since they had even allowed themselves a chance to catch up and just be stupid menfolk together (including the usual punching each other, sparring and then drinking, typically in that order).

Dilan (who had weathered all of Aeleus' attacks with a grace and stamina that seemed so very much unlike him) straightened as well from his fighting stance, a note of disbelief in his violet eyes as he peered at him. He muttered something that sounded suspiciously like, "Naive..."

Aeleus perked, despite himself. Maybe he had heard incorrectly. Or maybe that last punch had jolted his teeth just a bit too much. Admittedly he was still feeling rather unstable.

"You're losing your touch, Ael." Dilan smiled, rubbing the back of his neck, as though to wipe away the sweat that had gathered under his long braids, but seeing the futility of the action, he settled his mocha colored hand by his side. That sharp gaze of his narrowed while Aeleus was not looking. The other man was stretching out his overtaxed arms, wincing slightly. "Remind me, how old are you?"

"Twenty six." Aeleus replied easily. "But you knew that. Why are you-"

"And, how old is Ienzo?" Dilan cut in, his smooth, yet forceful tones cutting him off with a determined ease. Aeleus' brow knit in confusion, wondering exactly where this conversation was turning, and the seed of anxiety that was taking root in his stomach. An ache spread from his gut which had nothing to do with the beating he just received.

"He just turned sixteen." Aeleus answered with the growing suspicion that he was stepping into a verbal bear trap, but not knowing where this figurative pile of leaves was hidden.

"Sixteen, hm?" Dilan sighed, crossing his arms and giving Aeleus a pitying look.

"Yes." Aeleus had straightened up once again and was now giving Dilan his full attention, his brow knit with confusion and concern.

"That's a decade between the two of you." There was a lilt to the lancer's voice which grated at his companion. He crossed his arms, an expression akin to a hunter watching a rather foolish bear tumble nearby a trap crossed his face in a painstakingly slow manner. Aeleus nodded minutely to confirm, his confusion not easing in the slightest. There was an implication here he did not like, nor agree with.

"A full decade, Aeleus. That's a whole lot of time. He might be a pretty little thing, but he's still a child." Dilan shrugged as he took a few fluid steps around his companion, eying him, watching him. A stinging taste lingered in the back of Aeleus' mouth, spreading down his throat like acidic bile. He swallowed dryly, looking away, not knowing where this conversation, and yet fully knowing what was about to happen. No matter how powerful a hunted animal is, they are still just that: hunted and trapped.

"I've seen the way that you look at him." Aeleus could hear the sneer in his voice, the smug contentment of a shot well placed. Now, he just had to watch his target squirm and bleed. Aeleus rounded on him.

"How dare you-!"

"You don't think I didn't notice? Your failed relationship with Even, your absolute withdrawal. It was so predictable. You're _simple_, Aeleus." Dilan was still pacing around him, his eyes alight with a terrible intrigue, an interest which replaced the laughter lines of his eyes with something far darker, far more sinister. There was an unnamable hatred in his words, something which neither shadows, nor human emotion could fully define, but that rage which was cataloged away for safe keeping was striking and filled with poison. It was something Aeleus had not been expecting and he stood dumbfounded for a heartbeat of a moment.

"I would never-!"

"Oh please, Aeleus. This naivete has gone on for far too long. We both know that you've thrown yourself into protecting him wholeheartedly. It's so...admirable, in your world of heros and knights in shining armor." The thunk of his boots against the cobblestones of the training ground was rhythmic, hypnotizing. Was it just his imagination, or was the wind picking up around them? "That, of course, would be, if you didn't want anything in return."

"That isn't the tru-!"

"But you do want something in return. You can't even bring yourself to realize it, how twisted you are." Dilan plowed onward, easily overpowering the other man's voice, either not hearing his words, or not caring, or even perhaps both. He smiled, a fierce expression which alit his face with something wicked, something carnal. "You want him. You want him and he's barely sixteen. You monster."

"SHUT UP!"

With a grinding whirl and a sickening crunch, Aeleus felt his world shift and move. It was an unnatural notion, but the rage had seized him so suddenly, so fervently that even beyond his stoic mask of acceptance. He narrowed his royal blue eyes at Dilan, his hatred only tempered by the fact that he had just been pummeled not ten minutes prior. "What's happened to you, Dilan? Why are you doing this?" He asked through clenched teeth, barely keeping himself contained. His companion had placed all to ready bait for him, but he would not rise quite so easily.

But Dilan was staring back at him with a note of satisfaction and and just a touch of amazement. He was watching his pray gnaw at their own limb to get free; watching them fail miserably. "You're a monster, you know. Just like me. I don't have to convince you to turn to the darkness. You're already there."

"That's a lie." Aeleus hissed, his fists clenched, every muscle in his body taunt, yet held in check. "Take it back."

But Dilan simply gestured smoothly to his 'brother in arms'. "Turn around." He smirked, amusement plain as day on his smug face. Aeleus didn't want to. He wanted to yell at Dilan, to throw something at him, punch him until he admitted he was just being an ass; it was all a joke; he didn't mean a word of it; they were still just the same and everything was alright; they should go out for drinks and forget this ever happened.

But nothing was alright. Aeleus turned around.

The room was absolutely destroyed. The rock and stones had churned together in a mess of clay, slate, and granite, rendering at least half of the room into a maelstrom of upturned earth. The walls were leaning precariously inward, as though warped by a heinous nightmare. Building stones were falling haphazardly to the ground, afterthoughts of a ruthless attack. Weapons around the training facility were falling, rolling, piling wherever they tended to be unlucky enough to land. The entire scene looked as though someone had set off a bomb.

When...?

He felt Dilan clap him on the shoulder and let loose a bark of delight. He did not need any more words, any more taunts. He had done his damage. Aeleus knew what had gone wrong, he knew why he could not possibly tell Dilan that he was entirely mistaken, that he had been thinking too hard and reading into their situation far too much He knew that the lancer's cunning was paying off, no matter how it caused Aeleus so very much pain.

Because in the end, he had been right all along. About everything. Aeleus was a monster.


End file.
